OVERVIEW OF DALUN COMMUNITY
By Yussif Abdul-Hafiz and Alhassan Sumaila, 2013
1.0 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
1.1.1 LOCATION
Dalun is a farming community located at the North-Western part of the Kumbungu district of the Northern region of Ghana. The Dalun community shares boundaries with Saakuba to the North, Dalun-Kukuo to the South and Dalun-Bihinaa yili to the East. It is about six kilometers (6km) away from the district capital, Kumbungu.
The Kunbungu District was created by the current Government with Kumbungu as its capital. The district covers an area of about 1341 square kilometers and forms about 1.9% of the total land mass of the Northern Region.
The Kumbungu District is located at the North-Western part of the Northern Region and lies between latitude 9.20°N and 10.00°N and longitude 0.55°N and 1.25°W. It shares a boundary with west Mamprusi district to the north, Tamale Metropolitan to the south, Savelugu-Nanton district to the East, and Tolon district to the west.
1.1.2 RELIEF
Secondary data collected from the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute together with that of group survey reveals that the majority of the area rises from about 152.4m to about 182m in altitude. It is gently undulated on the South-Eastern part of the community, but flat at the North-Western part. There are not significant hills and high lands in the community.
1.1.3 DRAINAGE
There is good drainage system in the community as a result of the soil type (sandy in nature), which allows water to percolate/circulate easily. But at the North-Eastern part of the community drainage is poor because of the soil type (clay in nature).
1.1.4 CLIMATE
(a) Temperature
The highest mean monthly maximum temperature is about 37°C which occurs in February and March and the lowest mean monthly temperature is 27°C which occurs in August. Also, the lowest mean monthly minimum temperature is 20°C which occurs in December and the highest in April with 20°C.
(b) Humidity
Relative humidity is high in the rainy season with about 80% and very low in the dry season with 20%, especially during the harmattan periods which hits the district from November to December.
(c) Rainfall
From the secondary data collected by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA): There are two main seasons, the dry season and the wet season. The wet season occurs from May to October. Rainfalls from November to February are negligible but increase during March and April in the dry season to a tropical rainfall regime.
1.1.5 VEGETATION
Dalun is located in the Northern savannah zone. About 75% of the community is covered with the savannah grassland characterized by the short drought resistance trees, notable among them are shea trees, Dawadawa, Boahoba, kapoks, Neem trees, silk cotton trees and other species.
1.1.6 GEOLOGY
According to the secondary data obtained from the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute (SARI), the parent rocks in the station comprise clay-shale with lenses of sandy-stone and mudstone. The rocks have a characteristic chocolate naïve or pale-purple color. The initial products of the weathering are ironstone in the form of gravel or concretion, but over very considerable areas it is massive in form. Thus, in certain areas of the community the rock is very big and does not under go serious weathering/breakdown.
1.1.7 SOIL
The major soil type in the community is the sandy-loam which supports the production of millet, sorghum, maize cassava, groundnut, yam, rice, and beans. Also, some parts are clayed soil which supports rice production.
Most of the crops produced in the community are mainly for household consumption. The major diseases reported affecting crops are mosaic, rosette, blast, streals in maize, etc. Some of the animals reared in the community are cattle, goats, sheep, poultry, and donkeys.
1.1.8 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
The community experiences rampant bushing burning together with some bad farming practices and deforestation. Trees shed their leaves and other plants welter in the dry season. The unreliable rainfall coupled with high temperatures makes the community dry up often.
Due to the inadequate toilet facilities in the community, indiscriminate defecation around the environment is another challenge in Dalun.
However, environmental degradation in the community is low compared to other communities in the district. This is because of the existence of many trees. As such, the rate of soil erosion is also low because of the good drainage system and gentle undulating nature of the land in the community.
2.0 SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHICS
2.1 POPULATION SIZE
Dalun has a population of about eight thousand, five hundred (8500) sharply divided between male and female with the female population more than 50%.
2.2 RELIGION
There are two (2) main religious groups in the Dalun community. That is, the Islamic religion of about 98% and the Christianity of about 2%. There are eight (8) establish mosques and a church of Assembly of God which serves as places of worship for the people of Dalun. The Imam who is the leader of the Islamic religion lives in the community. The Pastor who leads the church comes from Tamale on Sundays to lead and facilitate worship.
2.3 ETHNICITY
Dagombas are the dominant ethnic group consisting about 99% and the other existing groups are the Frafras, Gurushe and Fulani’s, which make up 1% of the population. The popular local language used by the people of Dalun is Dagbani (Dagomba’s language).
2.4 KINSHIP
For the most part, the people of Dalun practice an extended family system. The people practice both patrilineal and matrilineal systems of inheritance.
2.5 VALUES
The following are the cherished values of the people of Dalun community: respect for the elderly, hospitality, discipline, and obedience.
2.6 TABOOS
Whistling in the night, having sex in the bush, a Chief sitting with his hat on, and excessive witchcraft are the taboos forbidden by the people. Taboos of Dalun can be learnt from the chiefdom and elders of the community.
2.7 FESTIVALS
The people of Dalun celebrate the following traditional and religious festivals: Damba by all, Bugum (fire festival) by all, Idle Fitr and Idle Adha by Muslims, and Christmas and Easter by Christians.
2.8 GENDER EQUALITY
The culture of silence by woman is gradually fading out as a result of education given to the people on gender equality by the Simli Radio station. Women are now actively involved in the decision making process, which brings about some level of equality between men and women in the Dalun community.
2.9 EDUCATION
There is one early childhood development school (Titagya school) in Dalun serving as a pre-school to the people of Dalun. Six (6) primary schools and a junior high school are also present serving the basic school system in the community. All these are managed and funded by the state through the district assembly save Titagya schools. There is no Senior High School in the community. So the youth of Dalun resort to Schools in Kumbungu, Tamale, Tolon, Saveligu etc. for Senior High School education and higher learning.
2.10 HEALTH
The Dalun community has a clinic and a chemical (drug) store for first aid, but they still rely on the Kings Village Hospital at the Buntanga for their health needs. These health facilities around the community help to improve the health status of the community. Fees are paid for any service received from these health facilities. There is a Health Insurance scheme in which people register and renew annually for health financing. This is received by many people in Dalun which is doing away with the “cash and carry system.”
2.11. SANITATION
The community does not have a specific place for their solid waste disposal as a result, these waste are disposed indiscriminately in the community. Also, the community does not have gutters and water channels for drainage in the community.
2.12 ECONOMIC STATUS
Employment status in Dalun is in two folds, those in the formal and informal sector. Farming is the primary occupation while carpentry, rice milling, and sheabutter extraction serve as minor occupations in the informal sector.
2.13 TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION
Mode of Transport
The main mode of transport in the community are; lorries, motorbikes, and bicycles.
The road network is a feeder road which passes through Dalun and other communities. There are foot paths that link other communities and the transportation services in the community are poor due to the fact that there is no lorry station to facilitate these services.
Communication
Both traditional and modern modes of communication systems are operational in the Dalun community.
Traditional mode of communication includes gong-gong and the talking drum whiles the modern modes of communication include: Radio station, mobile phones which the community can boast of Multi Telecommunication Network (MTN) AND VODAFONE networks.
However, there are no post offices or postal agents and there is a lack of a communication center.
2.14 INSTITUTIONS
There are formal and traditional, government and non-governmental institutions in Dalun. The table below shows the types of institution Dalun.
FORMAL / TRADITIONAL / GOVENMENTAL / NON-GOVERNMENTAL1.0 Educational institutions / 1.0 Chiefdom / 1.0 Ghana Water Company Sub station, Dalun / 1.0 Dalun Youth House
2.0 Health Institutions / 2.0 Women’s groups / 2.0 Primary and junior High Schools / 2.0 Dalun Simli centre
3.0 Area Council / 3.0 Youth Groups / 3.0 Dalun Clinic / 3.0 Titagya Schools
4.0 District Assembly system
2.15 GOVERNANCE
Governance in Dalun Community is in two forms, the traditional (chieftaincy) system and the modern political system. Before the introduction of the modern political system the major system of governance was chieftaincy which is still in practice by the people of Dalun. The chief of Dalun is called Dalun-lana and address as Naa. He is the leader of the traditional governance of the community with sub-chiefs serving specific, assigned protocols of the chiefdom. The chief is the custodian of the land. The mode of selection of chiefs in Dalun is through lobby at the Dagbon paramouncy in Yendi.
The modern political system in Dalun is through the decentralized governance in which the country is divided into district assemblies and further into electoral areas. Dalun is an electoral area in the newly created Kunbubgu District. The political head of the electoral area is the Assembly Member. The assembly member represents the Dalun community in the District assembly on any deliberation and pursuance developmental projects. The work of the assembly member is aided by a Unit committee. The unit committee is community based where members are drawn from various societies of the community strata to organize and present grievances to the assembly member.
The interrelationship between the modern and traditional political institutions is cordial. The traditional institution passes its grievances through the modern political institution to be addressed by the appropriate quarters. On the other hand the modern political institution depends on the traditional institution for information, release of lands for developmental projects among others.
There are no police station and law court in Dalun. Disputes are settled in the Chief’s Palace where hearing is given to all factions involves and questioned and final determination is made by the chief. Police are sometime invited from Tamale to oversee certain delicate problems in the community.
2.16 LANGUAGE
The languages spoken in Dalun are Dagbani and English.
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